Strike for $15.00 an hour, Sub shop fires everybody

[Pop23]

If he can't pay his workers a decent wage AND make a profit, then he's a shitty business owner.

This comment right here tells me you know not of what you speak. Really, nothing. You would be better off sticking to what you know, but I have yet to be able to determine what that is...

She works at a Mc Donalds. Grossly overpaid due to Australia's stupid wage laws.
Of course she is too stupid to realize that those inflated wages are reflected in the consumer prices. And too stupid to realize those wages are subsidized by taxation.

Check out the price of a movie ticket in Perth. Incredible! Beer? Rent?

Wow

 

[thereisnospoon]

his business..... and none of anyone ones else business but the owners.

Yup.

The Left has convinced itself that the purpose of a business is to serve its employees.

Wrong.

.

Actually, what we've convinced ourselves of is that the country works better when people are gainfully employed rather than when a few rich douchebags are living well and the rest of us are fighting over the scraps.

Oh, for the asshole who owns this store. He has received so much backlash that he had to get on the News and announce he was giving his ex-employees a week of severance wages because public opinion of him was so negative.

Got a link to that story?
I checked The Trib, Sun Times, WBBM News Radio 780...Nothing.

 

[thereisnospoon]

If he can't pay his workers a decent wage AND make a profit, then he's a shitty business owner.

If an employee does not like their wage then they can leave.

But in the real world workers know that if they quit or get terminated for just cause they can not collect unemployment. So they will do minimum work for the minimum pay. The employer ends up with substandard workers doing substandard work. Poorly motivated workers with chips on their shoulders end up costing the company far more than what paying a little more would cost.

Perhaps..
Two things.
1. a jump from $8 per hour to $15 per hour is not " a little more money"...That's darn close to a 100% increase.
2. The worker and employer agreed to the terms of employment.
An agreement is an agreement.
Poorly motivated workers soon find themselves with NO work. And limited opportunities.
As employees, it is incumbent upon them to motivate themselves.

 

[thereisnospoon]

His business was failing because it no longer served a changing demographic.
This is very, very, very common in the restaurant business. Neighborhoods change.
Pay his workers while he was closed for a month?? What the...what part of he was struggling and losing money do you not understand?
So you are one of those people who think that business owners have an infinite supply of money sitting around and are just greedy?? I would think you are smarter than that.
When a business loses money it is quite common for the owner to NOT PAY HIMSELF to meet payroll. I do not know if this guy was doing this, but it is possible. What is not possible was for him to pay his employees a ridiculous $15 per hour...and even more unrealistic to expect him to continue paying his employees for a whole month to do nothing. I suppose you think he should have taken out a 2nd mortgage on his house to do this.
Geez.

Give them a break, they believe all business owners have truckloads of cash.
It IS NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY to hire anyone when MY business makes money.
It is the RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WORKERS to educate and train themselves in a skill that they can make a decent wage in.

Actually, it IS your responsibility to follow all laws. Doesn't matter how shitty minimum wage employees are, and they ARE shitty. That's why I own two businesses and neither of them employee minimum wage employees.

What many fail to realize is that a minimum wage earner is , unless truly stupid, earning far more than minimum wage. The thing is though, that the government is picking up the difference, not the employer.

Figure a single mom with one child is earning $15K a year at her job
then add in what $200 in food stamps? For $2400
Then a $3000 so called earn income credit and suddenly you're looking at someone making $20,400 a year. Now take that figure of $5400 a year and divide it by 2080 hours and you come up with $2.60 an hour so add that to $7.25 an hour and you get what the in wage should be. $9.85 an hour.

The employee is "earning" exactly what they are now, the only difference is the employer is paying it, not us the tax payer.

Too bad for those employers who don't like it. I'm sick of the taxpayer getting stuck with EVERYTHING.

That's if every single min wage earner is A) eligible for assistance, which most are not, because they are not the sole breadwinner of a family
B) have more than one job.
The fact is the percentage of low wage earners who are even supporting themselves is very low.
It's a nice theory though.
BTW, contrary to the popular view on the side of the magical wage increase, food and beverage workers do not count. They are paid in cash tips.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Firing the lot and hiring someone who wants to work is the best solution.

For the most par nobody who is earning minimum wage wants to work, if they did, they wouldn't be earning minimum wage. That's just a fact.

I'd like to see the government actually push the envelope a little and MAKE people work whether they want to or not.

How do you do that? Simple.

Set a reasonable minimum wage (somewhere between $9-10) and then end welfare for any able bodied persons who won't work.

No.. The incentive to sit on one's dead ass should be removed. If you are able bodied, you get your ass to work.
Social policy has made poverty too comfortable.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Firing the lot and hiring someone who wants to work is the best solution.

Telling all your customers and potential future customers that the food product you are selling is processed, maintained and made by minimum wage workers with no hope of advancement is not good PR. Check out the reviews this place has been getting for over a year. Not good. Plenty of complaints about food quality. That is what happens when you fill your restaurant with minimum wage employee's. All the other Snarfs may be effected by this negative publicity. The employee's that got dumped will find better jobs. Decent employers will take advantage of employee's that will appreciate better working conditions than what was offered at Snarfs.

That's a joke, right...
The food and beverage business employs the bulk of low wage workers. Is it your conclusion that ALL of them have crummy food and lazy workers?
Come on now.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Strike for $15.00 an hour, Sub shop fires everybody

As much as I would hate to fire everyone just before Christmas, the bottom line is business. In order to accommodate $15/hour, the sub shop would have to raise it's prices to the point where no one would eat there. It would be forced to shut down.

First, this business didn't shut down permanently.

Second, why do people think min wage employees don't have a right to negotiate? I hire employees and when I do , I pay more than minimum wage but I've never had one just accept my first offer, and certainly I've never met someone's first offer. We've negotiated to a wage that's fair for both.

I've never heard of say a McDonald's employee negotiating his wage. Have you?

These folks started out at $15 but how many would have settled for $9? Quite a few I'd say, that's an extra $80 a week if you're full time.

Do you believe your business exists in a vacuum?
Obviously your profit margins permit you to adjust your wages upward.
Many other small businesses, especially franchised businesses have no such luxury.
These businesses have costs that are fixed which battle against the need to keep prices low, lest the customers go elsewhere for a better deal.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Yup.

The Left has convinced itself that the purpose of a business is to serve its employees.

Wrong.

.

Actually, what we've convinced ourselves of is that the country works better when people are gainfully employed rather than when a few rich douchebags are living well and the rest of us are fighting over the scraps.

Oh, for the asshole who owns this store. He has received so much backlash that he had to get on the News and announce he was giving his ex-employees a week of severance wages because public opinion of him was so negative.

Got a link to that story?
I checked The Trib, Sun Times, WBBM News Radio 780...Nothing.

Only the voices in his head!

 

[thereisnospoon]

Yup, you got to keep them wage slaves in their place. How DARE they demand decent pay.

Oh, by the way, this restruant was in downtown Chicago, and what they were paying in rent or taxes for that tony downtown address was probably no doubt a lot more than they were paying the wage slaves...

Slave wages I worked for those slave wages

And your ignorance is aptly demonstrated in your own post, yes their other expenses may indeed be higher than if they were in a suburban strip mall, so what's your point ? Right, make one up......

How long ago since you've had to work for Min Wage? Last time I did was 1985, and that was when the Min Wage was actually worth something.

Point is, if you can afford the high rent, you should be able to afford paying the prevailing wage.

They really need to make an example out of this guy. Make sure during the time he's "remodelling", the building inspector makes frequent stops....

Then if he opens and hasn't rehired the same employees, have the health inspector stop by frequently. Heh, heh, heh...

Damn. It's a bitch when government works for the people, isn't it?

"You should"....Another example of how you don't have a clue.
Genius. Rent is a fixed cost which comes off the bottom line. On the other hand, labor is a flexible cost through employment of efficient production and other adjstments can be controlled.
"They really need to make an example out of this guy. Make sure during the time he's "remodelling", the building inspector makes frequent stops....

Then if he opens and hasn't rehired the same employees, have the health inspector stop by frequently. Heh, heh, heh... "
Are you suggesting public officials commit acts of corruption to satisfy your need for vengeance?
Possibly. After all this is Chicago. The world capital of corruption.
In reality and much to your chagrin, this will not happen.
You are just spouting off about your wet dream.

 

[thereisnospoon]

A job is worth what the market will bear.

It really puzzles me that this is such a bizarre and foreign concept to so many people.

I would strongly support required fundamental economics courses in every year of high school. When a populace doesn't understand the painfully simple concept of "supply and demand", something has gone off the rails somewhere.

.

Hell, go ahead and mention the fact that labor is a commodity....And watch the pro union whiny libs have a coronary.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Actions have consequences. A sub shop in Chicago was the target of a recent protest of workers wanting $15.00 an hour. The shop fired everyone, three days before Christmas, en masse, everyone got the can.

That's the way to deal with these kinds of protests.

Chicago sandwich shop fires all its staff in an EMAIL just days before Christmas | Mail Online

A Chicago sandwich shop has fired all its employees over email just days before Christmas.
Staff at Snarf's Sub Shop in River North received the bad news on Sunday night in a group email notifying them that the drastic action was effective immediately.
The company blamed 'increased competition and losses' for the firings.
Director of operations Doug Besant said in the email the restaurant will likely close for a month as they remodel and reconcept the business into a burger joint.

The River North Snarf's shop was closed for four days, from December 5 until December 8, as employees went on striking for higher wages and better benefits.
They joined workers of fast-food chains like McDonald's, Subway, Potbelly and others in a broader strike orchestrated by the Worker's Organizing Committee of Chicago.

I hope nobody buys their sandwiches.

Shit for brains...Do you think this is the only sandwich shop in the country that pays min wage or slightly above?
Do you believe that this is the only small business to go out of business around the holidays?
Christ, you libs I swear live in a parallel universe.
Your brainless hysterical retort is noted.....As so much inconsequential liberal pap.

 

[thereisnospoon]

A job is worth what the market will bear.

It really puzzles me that this is such a bizarre and foreign concept to so many people.

I would strongly support required fundamental economics courses in every year of high school. When a populace doesn't understand the painfully simple concept of "supply and demand", something has gone off the rails somewhere.

.

We don't live in a capitalistic society. If we did, all those banks would have failed and our tax dollars wouldn't have bailed them out. Our tax dollars would not provide benefits to corporations either. And our immigration wouldn't have increased to make up for our lower birth rate which would have raised the low skilled wages to much more than they are today.

A good solution to this is for people to not go to their business. Support living wage jobs for low wage workers.

Define "living wage"...

 

[thereisnospoon]

We don't live in a capitalistic society. If we did, all those banks would have failed and our tax dollars wouldn't have bailed them out. Our tax dollars would not provide benefits to corporations either. And our immigration wouldn't have increased to make up for our lower birth rate which would have raised the low skilled wages to much more than they are today.

A good solution to this is for people to not go to their business. Support living wage jobs for low wage workers.

Okay, I'm going to ask this question again - I've tried many times on many threads, and I never get an answer. One more shot, here's the (very typical) scenario:

We have a McDonald's in a city, county and state in which the cost of living is average for the country. At the low end of the pay scale, we have the following three people:

Mike, who is single and 18 and living with Mom & Dad. All his needs are paid for and he just wants some extra cash for the next four years of college.

John, who is 24 and never really gotten his act together. He is single but has run up credit card bills and online personal loans, he definitely likes to buy some weed now and then and needs to make quite a bit more than Mike.

Jeff, who is 32 with a wife and two kids to support. He just wants to take care of his family.

Each of them just got hired on at the low end of the totem pole. Their job is to put the salt on the french fries.

There's the scenario. What would you say the "living wage" should be? How much per hour?

$10? $12? $15? $20?

.

It's been answered before, you just don't listen. A living wage is enough for one person to pay rent on a crappy apartment, all their utilities, their clothes, transportation and medical. I don't think that's too much to ask for the lowest paid worker in the richest country in the world.

Back in 1968 when my brother worked a minimum wage job, he could pay for his own apartment, buy a brand new car and take college classes part time. That can't be done today. Why do you think the top 1% earn more than 200% increase in their income while the bottom workers deserved to lose spending power?

You are full of shit.....There is no way anyone on $1.60 per hour( min wage in 1968 adjusted for inflation that's a little under $10 per hour) could , afford rent, utilities, a NEW car and pay for college.
You can believe that will stick here if you want to. I got a little newsflash for you. Not a single person with a bit of healthy skepticism will believe you.
So, you can change your bullshit story and avoid further ridicule...Or not.
Look, you should go back to doing whatever other hobby you had before you discovered USMB. There are people here who are allergic to whiny lib bullshit.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Okay, I'm going to ask this question again - I've tried many times on many threads, and I never get an answer. One more shot, here's the (very typical) scenario:

We have a McDonald's in a city, county and state in which the cost of living is average for the country. At the low end of the pay scale, we have the following three people:

Mike, who is single and 18 and living with Mom & Dad. All his needs are paid for and he just wants some extra cash for the next four years of college.

John, who is 24 and never really gotten his act together. He is single but has run up credit card bills and online personal loans, he definitely likes to buy some weed now and then and needs to make quite a bit more than Mike.

Jeff, who is 32 with a wife and two kids to support. He just wants to take care of his family.

Each of them just got hired on at the low end of the totem pole. Their job is to put the salt on the french fries.

There's the scenario. What would you say the "living wage" should be? How much per hour?

$10? $12? $15? $20?

.

It's been answered before, you just don't listen. A living wage is enough for one person to pay rent on a crappy apartment, all their utilities, their clothes, transportation and medical. I don't think that's too much to ask for the lowest paid worker in the richest country in the world.

Back in 1968 when my brother worked a minimum wage job, he could pay for his own apartment, buy a brand new car and take college classes part time. That can't be done today. Why do you think the top 1% earn more than 200% increase in their income while the bottom workers deserved to lose spending power?

But Mike lives with Mom and Dad. He doesn't have all those expenses.


.

The situation of the individual is immaterial. The marketplace decides wages. Not whether a person lives at home or has kids and lives in a hovel.
The job pays what it pays.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Hey you know what.

When someone is preparing something that I am going to put inside my body, I really, really want them to be well compensated and happy with their jobs.

Not sure why you don't. I guess you all like living dangerously.

Then why don't you just go to the most expensive places to eat instead of a sub shop?

In all honesty it's cheaper to make your own sandwiches than it is to order out.

That's another of my pet peeves. How many people whining that they don't make enough buy coffee every day at 2-5 dollars a cup when they could fill a thermos up at home for a few cents?

Usually, I do prepare most of my own food, and the only time I go to a Starbucks is when I am meeting a c lient. (It's really not the coffee I'm paying for, it's the WiFi.)

Of course, the fallacy here is that paying a decent wage would really increase prices all that much. A nickel a sandwich? Can't see that being that big of a deal.

So what the fuck are you complaining about...Never mind. You libs LIVE to complain.
Oh....here is another example of how incredibly stupid you are..You use an unencrypted public wifi connection...let me guess, to read your email?
And I bet if you get hacked, you file a lawsuit against the coffee shop because you refused to practice some personal responsibility and protect your computer.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Actions have consequences. A sub shop in Chicago was the target of a recent protest of workers wanting $15.00 an hour. The shop fired everyone, three days before Christmas, en masse, everyone got the can.

That's the way to deal with these kinds of protests.

Chicago sandwich shop fires all its staff in an EMAIL just days before Christmas | Mail Online

A Chicago sandwich shop has fired all its employees over email just days before Christmas.
Staff at Snarf's Sub Shop in River North received the bad news on Sunday night in a group email notifying them that the drastic action was effective immediately.
The company blamed 'increased competition and losses' for the firings.
Director of operations Doug Besant said in the email the restaurant will likely close for a month as they remodel and reconcept the business into a burger joint.

The River North Snarf's shop was closed for four days, from December 5 until December 8, as employees went on striking for higher wages and better benefits.
They joined workers of fast-food chains like McDonald's, Subway, Potbelly and others in a broader strike orchestrated by the Worker's Organizing Committee of Chicago.

Obviously, if employees don't report for work, their job doesn't mean much to them. Companies that are subject to collective bargaining are called 'union shops' and no business is required to be a union shop. It is a choice the owner gets to make.

The people who are on the bottom rung of the pay scale are there for a reason. This certainly illustrates that salient point.

Actually, the employees decide to become union. The employer has little choice in the matter other than closing the doors, reestablish the business later.

it is important to remember that the employer must agree to the terms of a contract between the union and the business.
Yes, years ago, if a business owner refused to bargain, the employees could walk and shut down the business. That no longer is the case.
For example. A branch of Dish Network Service Corp( DNSC) in Maryland, terminated all of it's technicians because they elected to join a union.
The company simply refused to bargain with the union management. they simply waited out the employees who voted to for the union. The company went by the book. They fired people for being late. For declining work assignments. For incorrect paperwork. For working unauthorized overtime...After about a month, the entire technician corps was turned over.
Unions simply do not have the kind of clout they once had.

 

[thereisnospoon]

This was great news eh? How many got fired? 15?

Now we got 15 more people for food stamps and welfare.

And you asshole rethugs applaud this.

Weird.

This is another problem...see this post?
This is a perfect example of the "low information" American.
Obviously did not read the link (let's hope not)
Must have read the headline and already made up his/her mind that the evil business owner fires everyone for no good reason and we all laugh in the background with a big bwhaaaaahahahahaha.
Jesus....THIS is how a person with zero experience, who never held a job outside of academia, has never ran a business or even worked in one BECAME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Actually, we did read the link.

A guy who owns a shop in downtown Chicago (where the cost of rent is ridiculously high) isn't paying his employees a decent wage.

Now, if you have ever been to downtown Chicago, it's usually a madhouse down there at lunch.

But this guy isn't paying his employees a decent wage in a place where parking for the day costs $30.00 or more.

That's why they went on strike.

Who says he wasn't paying them a decent wage?
The issue here was this. A bunch of union organizers decided to picket this shop...The employees mistakenly thought they could use this protest to coerce a $15/he wage out of the owner. It back fired. Case closed.
Regardless of your theory, for purposes of THIS discussion, the monthly lease on the shop is immaterial.
Did it ever occur to you that the workers lived within walking distance or used mass transit to get to work? Probably not.
You are out of gas here. You are arguing just to argue.

 

[mudwhistle]

Who won?

Sub shop loses business while they scramble for new employees, employees go get another low paying job

When will you ever get tired of lying????

 

[thereisnospoon]

This was great news eh? How many got fired? 15?

Now we got 15 more people for food stamps and welfare.

And you asshole rethugs applaud this.

Weird.

They got fired because they walked off the job.

I don't feel bad about that at all. And btw if you get fired for cause you can't file an unemployment claim.

No they did not. They got fired because the business is switching business models. If they were fired for striking they would have a lawsuit for violations of the National Labor Relations Act.

Further, you CAN file a claim if you're fired for cause. It may not be paid, but you can file.

HA! They got shit canned because they walked. Period.
The bottom line is fired for cause means no unemployment. Period.

 

[thereisnospoon]

No they did not. They got fired because the business is switching business models. If they were fired for striking they would have a lawsuit for violations of the National Labor Relations Act.

Further, you CAN file a claim if you're fired for cause. It may not be paid, but you can file.

from the article

But the move comes less than a month after Snarf's workers rallied for higher wages.


If you're willing to believe that those people didn't get fired because they "rallied" aka refused to work then that's your choice.

And so what if they all got canned? It's the business owners choice after all.

what?

You're not very bright are you? First of all, it takes months to come up with a deal to do something like switch a sub shop to a burger joint, if not a year or more. This wasn't something that was done overnight because of a strike

Second of all, GUARANTEE you that the owner would deny it was due to the "striking" because to do so would be to admit that he violated the National Relations Act, which by the way applies no matter what state you are in.

As far as his right, of course it is his right to be a dick and fire people right before Christmas. And to cowardly do it via email

The owner violated nothing.
First off it's called the "WARN Act".
The Act requires a 60 day notice of a predictable layoff.
These employees were FIRED for cause. Second, there are exceptions to the Act. One such is "unforseeable conditions".
Job actions by at will employees are not covered under Labor Law. And as such are subject to the authority of the employer.
Finally....And here's where your story goes down in flames, The WARN Act does not apply to businesses with fewer than 100 employees. Or where hours exceed 4,000 per week.
The sandwich shop is exempt
Who is Covered
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is administered by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA). WARN generally covers employers with 100 or more employees, not counting those who have worked less than six months in the last 12 months and those who work less than 20 hours per week, or those employers with 100 or more employees, including part-time workers, who in the aggregate work at least 4,000 hours per week, exclusive of overtime. Regular federal, state, and local government entities that provide public services are not covered. Employees entitled to notice under WARN include managers and supervisors as well as hourly and salaried workers.
http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/layoffs.htm#who